Prairie refers to an area of land in North America of low topographic relief that historcially supported grasses and herbs, with few trees, and having generally a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. It encompassed much of the area referred to as the Great Plains, and sizeable parts of the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In Canada, prairie occupied vast areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. French explorers called these areas prairie, from the French word for "meadow". Sometimes, in the United States and Canada, a distinction is made between the shortgrass vegetation of the High Plains west of the 100th meridian and the midgrass and tallgrass vegetation to the east (from central Texas to southern Manitoba). When this distinction is made, it is common to limit the word "prairie" to the midgrass and tallgrass area. Almost all of this area has been converted into farmland in the last two hundred years.

Fire is an important part of prairie ecology; natural and human induced fires were common in historic prairie areas. Grazing by animals such as the American Bison and Prairie dogs also helped maintain the original prairie ecology. Small areas of prairies also exist in eastern North America, and it is possible that these were created by Native Americans by periodic burning. One such area was along the southeastern shore of Lake Erie in what is now Pennsylvania and New York; another was between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake in present New York.

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Other temperate grasslands regions include the Pampas of Argentina, and the steppes of Russia and Ukraine.

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